Is Raja Rozela the new Gani Patail?

In July 2015, then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail was abruptly replaced by Mohamed Apandi Ali. Prior to that, Gani was heading a special task force probing the wrongdoings in 1MDB.

As events eventually unfolded, the money trail in 1MDB led to then prime minister Najib Razak, who is now serving a 12-year jail sentence and an RM210 million fine for abuse of power and corruption.

One cannot be faulted for thinking that Gani's removal, some three months prior to his retirement in October, came as a relief for Najib, if not bought him precious time.

One also cannot be faulted for drawing a comparison between the episode, which took place eight years ago, and the recent removal of Raja Rozela Raja Toran as the lead prosecutor in the corruption trial of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The similarities did not end there. When approached by Malaysiakini for comment at that time, Gani replied: "Never mind. I do not want to say a word. Nanti saya cakap ni banyaklah."

Meanwhile, Raja Rozela's response to the New Straits Times over her departure was: "I am a public servant... I am not allowed to comment. My apologies."

Officially, Gani "left" due to "health reasons" while Raja Rozela had opted for "early retirement". In both instances, the reasons were stated through media statements by their immediate superiors, that is, the then chief secretary Ali Hamsa for the former and Attorney-General Idrus Harun for the latter. Neither Gani nor Raja Rozela addressed the media, despite the huge public interest in their decisions.

Are the similarities not eerie?

Why did Raja Rozela leave when she had led the team that had proven a prima facie case against Zahid, who is facing 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, graft, and money laundering involving Yayasan Akalbudi funds?

The decision to drop Raja Rozela is part of a series of questionable decisions made by the prosecutors with regards to Zahid's trial. For one, he is able to get his passport back, purportedly for work, but from the looks of it, he took the opportunity to undergo a cosmetic procedure abroad, too.

Worse still, he was able to get his trial postponed in April over "new facts and evidence", and prosecutors were then instructed not to oppose the postponement. It is unclear what the "new evidence" was, but considering that his defence has been called, it is all very fishy.

By any accounts, these are suspicious moves that suggest political interference. It does not help that the law minister is an Umno leader.

If it is true that Raja Rozela was adamant about retiring, did the government try to persuade her to stay at least until the disposal of Zahid's case? What were the reasons behind her decision to call it quits, given her upstanding reputation as a prosecutor? Why was she dropped now when her retirement only takes effect in November?

There are far too many unanswered questions about Raja Rozela's departure. Unless the government clears the air over these, it would have to brace for a backlash from voters, particularly urbanites, in the state elections this Saturday.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.